Harold a



. WEBSTER.

GAR FENDER.

Patented May Z6, 1896.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD A. WEBSTER, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HERBERT B. NEWTON, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 560,953, dated May 26, 1896. Application filed September 14, 1895. Serial Nox 562,532. (No model.)

To LZZ whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, HAROLD A. /VEBSTER, of Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar Guards or Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fenders for electric or cable cars, and has for its object to provide a fender or guard. of such construction that a person encountered by the car while standing upon the track will be picked up or caught with the minimum liability to injury, while a person encountered while prostrate upon the track will be pushed along until the car stops, and thus prevented from getting .under the wheels.

The invention consists in the several improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, Figure l represents a side elevation of a portion of a car with my improved fender applied thereto.V Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents a perspective View of the fender.

The same letters and figures of reference represent the same parts in all the views.

In the drawings, a represents the platform of a street-car,and b b represent fixed horizontal guides or ways secured to the platform and located below the same.

c c represent bars fitted to slide on the guides b l), said bars being connected at their forward ends by a Vcross-bar d, the whole constituting a substantially horizontal frame or support, which forms a part of my improved guard, said support being located below and normally projecting in advance of the platform a. I prefer to construct said support and the guard-frame connected thereto as hereinafter described, so that the entire guard or fender can bc pushed back between the guides l) under the platform; but this is not an essential part of -my invention, and the part denominated the support may be rigidly secured to the platform, if preferred, or it may be constructed to be removed from the guides l) b and transferred from one end of the car to the other without being constructed to slide backwardly between the guides b b.

. d represents a guard-frame, which is connected to the support, composed of the bars c c and c', by pivots d/ d', which are in line with each other and constitute an axis exv tending crosswise of the car, on which the guard-frame CZ may swing from the vertical position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to the horizontal position shown in dotted lines in the same figure. The pivots d are here shown as engaged with ears d2, rigidly affixed to the side portions of the guard-frame d. The said guard-frame normally stands in the vertical position shown in full lines and is so proportioned that its upper end stands in front of the dasher a of the car, the said upper end being elevated considerably above the axial line of the pivots d d. The frame d has a flexible netting or filling G.

d3 represents an extension of the guardframe which projects below and in advance of the axial line of the pivots d', the arrangement being such that the lower portion of said extension projects forward from said axial line, so that a person standing on the track will be encountered by the lowerportion of the extension d3, which is arranged to strike at or near the ankles, thus tripping up the i person and causing him to fall against the upper portion of the guard-frame. The contact of the person with the guard-frame will cause the latter to yield and swing backwardly to or toward the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 1, so that the person thus caught will be supported and carried along by the guard or fender. I prefer to make the eX- tension d3 of resilient construction, so that when it encounters a person or object on the track it will yield sufficiently to prevent giving a violent blow. I have here shown the extension d3 as composed of two resilient arms 2 2, affixed at their upper ends to the side pieces of the frame d, their lower ends projecting forward from said frame and being free to yield backwardly. The lower ends of the arms 2 2 are connected by a iiexible bar or cord l-3t,on which are preferably mounted a series of small trucks or rollers 3. A flexision di.

IOO

that the resilient extension (Z3 in striking an object on the track will yield, its lower edge thus being caused to swing downward into contact with or in close proximity to the track, so that if the fender encounters a person lying upon the track the extension d3 will yieldingly strike the person and will immediately bceome depressed, so that the person will be pushed along in advance of the fender, while a person struck in a standing position will be tripped and caused to fall backward against the frame d, as already stated.

(I4 d4 represent arms which are bent backwardly from the frame (Z and are arranged to bear upon the under side of the supportingframe when the frame d is in its normal position, thus preventing the frame (l from swinging forward from said position.

I claiml. A car-fender comprising a frame or support projecting forward from the platform, a guard-frame pivotally connected to the forward portion of said support and adapted to normally occupy a substantially vertical position in advance of the platform and to swing backwardly therefrom, and an extension connected with the guard, said extension projecting below the axial line of the pivots that connect the guard withits support and forward from the upper portion which is above said line, the extension being movable with the guard-frame and having an independent yielding movement whereby its lower portion is adapted to swing baekwardly and downwardly toward the track before the guardframe swings baekwardly, as set forth.

2. A car-fender comprising a frame or support projecting forward from the platform, and a guard-frame pivotally connected to the forward portion of said support and adapted to normally occupy a substantially vertical position in advance of the platform, said guard-frame having a resilient extension projecting below the axial line of its pivots.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 3d dayof September, A. D. 1895.

HAROLD A. WEBWFER.

Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, A. D. lIAI-zmsoN. 

